MANILA, Philippines - Liberal Party standard-bearer Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III candidly admitted yesterday that the number of girlfriends he has had already reached “multiples of four” and that he too had his heart broken many times.

Aquino shared a light moment with The STAR editors, columnists and reporters after he was grilled exhaustively on his stand on various issues and platform of government.

Asked about his love life, he said it is “okay” although “time constraints” have hampered “building the relationship.”

This is because he has become too busy with the campaign and hardly has time to spend with his girlfriend, Valenzuela City Councilor Shalani Soledad.

Pressed on whether there would be a first wedding of a sitting president in Malacañang if elected, Aquino replied: “I won’t rule that out.”

“But the priority has to be the problems of the state,” he quickly added.

Aquino clarified he has no specific plans yet on marriage. He said he told himself, when he was in college, that he should be married before 24 since he had his first girlfriend at 18.

When it did not happen, he said he again planned for it to happen before he turned 30.

“But again nothing happened... Four girlfriends (became) multiples of four. I don’t want to make plans anymore so as not to set myself up to be frustrated.”

Asked about his sex life, Aquino laughed and said: “I don’t think there is any way of answering that, that will be nice.”

He described himself as basically a shy guy who does not approach women easily.

“I am basically shy so how do you approach someone and say come. When they come after me, I feel they are too aggressive, so either way, talo (I lose),” he said when asked about one-night stands.

“So the answer is no. How would that happen given those parameters,” Aquino said.

He also refused to talk about his relationships in detail and said he had “moved on” from past heartbreaks.

Asked about his former girlfriend, broadcaster Korina Sanchez, who married his running mate Sen. Manuel Roxas II, Aquino said that was over two decades ago and that they remain friends.

“She told me, imagine, I never thought you would be my ninong (godfather),” Aquino said, eliciting much laughter.

But he hopes to eventually settle down and have “at least one child,” pointing out that “I’m already 50 and by the time my child goes to college, I’ll be 70 already.”

He said an Aquino presidency would seek to strengthen the nuclear family, a basic building block of society and country. - Aurea Calica

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